Random Things You Should Know About SeaWorld (26 items)

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  (#9) SeaWorld's Orca-Breeding Practices Are Not Only Unsettling, They're Now Considered Illegal In Some Places

  Male orcas are trained to float on their backs, who are then masturbated by their trainers to collect their sperm. The females don’t have it much better, as they are artificially inseminated and forced to breed at a much younger age than they would in nature. SeaWorld trainers used Tilikum's sperm to impregnate other female whales in captivity, despite many animal advocates who say whales with violent histories should probably not be bred.

  In 2015, California banned the breeding of orcas in SeaWorld as a condition of the park's $100 million expansion of the marine mammal tanks in San Diego. Sadly for the whales in SeaWorld parks in other states, the rule only applies to captive orcas in California.
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  (#21) Cramped Spaces Make For Hostile Animals

  In the ocean, dolphins and whales swim up to 100 miles a day. At SeaWorld, they live in pools that are too small to house them. This can be stressful, and cause hostility between the animals, who would otherwise be able to swim away from conflicts in the wild.

   
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  (#11) Orcas In Captivity Have Bad Teeth

  Many SeaWold orcas grind their teeth out by rubbing them against the steel gates, either due to boredom or to establish dominance. To add insult to injury, their teeth are also drilled out by the staff, without anesthesia, to prevent further degradation of oral health and infections, followed by a flushing solution of Betadine. At the time of Dawn Brancheau's death, Tilikum was receiving this flushing and drilling treatment three times a day.
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  (#5) Captive Orcas Are Trained Not to Focus On Food

  When orcas are in captivity, their trainers condition them to not care about food  – they instead get fully fed by the end of the day regardless of any behavior issues.
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  (#4) Orcas Can Get Bored

  Trainers in the know report that orcas exhibit human emotions and traits including boredom. Former SeaWorld trainer, John Hargrove, explains that orcas possess a chamber in their brain that humans lack, one that controls emotion.
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  (#15) Depression Can Keep Orca Moms From Nursing

  Tragic video from the filming of a documentary called Superpod shows an Orca mom at San Diego's SeaWorld ignoring pleas for milk from her calf. According to the marine biologist and former trainer who filmed the video, the Orca's abnormal behavior - floating upright with her belly facing the glass - made it impossible for her young calf to nurse. In essence, the mother was too depressed to care for her child. They also spotted a bruise on the mama whale from where the baby had repeatedly nudged her in an attempt to feed. Later in the video, the mother Orca floated almost motionless near the bottom of the tank - more abnormal behavior for a killer whale. The filmmakers were kicked out of the park for filming the incident.

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